For more than two full terms, rolls of hundreds of Talossan stamps have sat with former Ministreu of Finance Istefan Perþonest (now a Deputy of the same Ministra), unpromoted by successive governments and selling in the barest trickle. While still available for sale through the same sales page as when they were first offered, it has been years since the Government took any steps to encourage sales. That has left 1,997 stamps to languish unsold - and at twenty bence apiece, that might not be the best use of 665¤40 (USD $998.50) worth of stamps.
The numbers are dismal by most standards. Backers of the successful Kickstarter got stamps as a reward for supporting the project, and these stamps represent almost every stamp sold. The twenty-one backers of various levels received 473 stamps of the initial printing of 2,500 more than a year ago, and according to the last report by current Minister of Finance Owen Edwards (confirmed by M. Perþonest, who remains in charge of the sales) only an additional thirty stamps have been sold in the span of that year, in a single purchase made by a non-Talossan stamp collector. The obscurity of the purchase page and absolute silence by successive governments explain this near-absence of sales, which most advocates of the project have found unfortunate. At the time of the Kickstarter, speculation had pegged stamp sales as a regular small source of income, and anticipated minimum numbers certainly higher than a single sale.
When asked about why stamps were never further promoted after the Kickstarter under his tenure in the Ministra, M. Perþonest said that he didn’t want to “promote a soon-to-be-defunct webpage,” referring to the planned move totalossa.com from the kingdomoftalossa.net site. Plus, “pretty much all plans [in Talossa] take longer than people initially account for,” M. Perþonest admitted. That said, in the nine months since he left office, he said, “No other government official has ever contacted me about promotion.”
When reached for comment, M. Edwards stated that the stamps "are available for sale, and I believe the number sold so far is about 500; the Burgermeister administers sales, and is ready and eager to provide for people's stamp-related needs." When pressed about the Government silence, he stated further, "We are probably due another advertisement drive soon, but I think prior to this public knowledge has been sufficient and no further advertisement was required - as our sales suggest."
The numbers are dismal by most standards. Backers of the successful Kickstarter got stamps as a reward for supporting the project, and these stamps represent almost every stamp sold. The twenty-one backers of various levels received 473 stamps of the initial printing of 2,500 more than a year ago, and according to the last report by current Minister of Finance Owen Edwards (confirmed by M. Perþonest, who remains in charge of the sales) only an additional thirty stamps have been sold in the span of that year, in a single purchase made by a non-Talossan stamp collector. The obscurity of the purchase page and absolute silence by successive governments explain this near-absence of sales, which most advocates of the project have found unfortunate. At the time of the Kickstarter, speculation had pegged stamp sales as a regular small source of income, and anticipated minimum numbers certainly higher than a single sale.When asked about why stamps were never further promoted after the Kickstarter under his tenure in the Ministra, M. Perþonest said that he didn’t want to “promote a soon-to-be-defunct webpage,” referring to the planned move totalossa.com from the kingdomoftalossa.net site. Plus, “pretty much all plans [in Talossa] take longer than people initially account for,” M. Perþonest admitted. That said, in the nine months since he left office, he said, “No other government official has ever contacted me about promotion.”
When reached for comment, M. Edwards stated that the stamps "are available for sale, and I believe the number sold so far is about 500; the Burgermeister administers sales, and is ready and eager to provide for people's stamp-related needs." When pressed about the Government silence, he stated further, "We are probably due another advertisement drive soon, but I think prior to this public knowledge has been sufficient and no further advertisement was required - as our sales suggest."
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